So, tomorrow is my birthday.
For the third year in a row I’m going to be 30. I know what you’re thinking: “Gareth there‘s no way you look 32, shut the front door!”
Unfortunately, it’s true. The youthful face and 12-year-old mentality are just a ploy and I’m actually in my early 30s.
Each year I love my birthday and get excited in the build-up (note the mental age above). Joking aside, why shouldn’t you get excited about your birthday?
I told my parents that I’d got the day off for the 15th and they both said the same thing, that no-one should go to work on their birthday.
Dad followed this up with: “I don’t want to celebrate my birthday anymore.” And mum said that she’s actually started to age backwards, like a mum version of Benjamin Button. I had to laugh.
But what is it about aging that people hate?
When you’re young you can’t wait to be older, so you can go clubbing, so you can drink and so you can actually be treated like an adult.
Then when you turn 18 the times you are told you look older are an absolute outrage.
After that you move into the stage of wanting to look younger and celebrating when people think you look fresh faced.
Finally you get to the stage my parents are in. Birthdays are not for celebrating and people get more excited about them than you do.
There are two sides to birthdays for me. The first is the excitement side, the side that says to me ‘Oh my god let’s eat cake and run around excitably like a toddler who’s just met their favourite cartoon character.’
The second side is the pressure. The questions of ‘What would you like to do for your birthday? What would you like for your birthday?’
I don’t like putting people out so I don’t want to suggest something they won’t like. Plus the insecure side of me only wants other people to have fun, or people to turn up at all.
So to avoid that I’d rather just suggest nothing, or have people tell me what I’ll be doing for the big day.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my birthday. It’s a day that only I can celebrate (plus a girl called Louise who I went to school with.)
The focus is on you for a bit, you get some nice presents and cards and a lot of nice messages from people.
Then you have to buy cakes to take into work….
Weird, I’ve always found that one to be hilarious. Like why would you possibly buy other people cake on YOUR birthday?
Of course I’ll do it though. I want to honour the tradition, I just wish it was more of a treat for people to have their birthdays.
Excuse me now while I struggle to sleep as I’m too excited.
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